BOLLYWOOD (Hindi)

[kiran]

Katrina Kaif replaces Rani as Aditya Chopra's favourite

Everyone knows that in Bollywood, it is the heroes who call the shots. The leading ladies are just incidental to the plot.

So when one of B-Town's most powerful production houses signs an actress for three big projects, it is definitely time for the competition to sit up and take notice. Not only is Katrina Kaif doing three films for Aditya Chopra's home production, she has been paired opposite the top three Khans.

While Kareena Kapoor has already worked with Salman, Aamir and Shah Rukh, they were all projects with different production houses. Clearly, Chopra's production house has never put so much faith in one actress. In fact, they've rarely repeated their leading ladies (barring Rani Mukerji), and often work with the No 1 actress of the time before moving on to the next big star. Rekha acted in Silsila (1981), Juhi in Darr (1993), and Madhuri Dixit in Dil Toh Pagal Hai (1997).

Interestingly, Kat has already worked with the banner twice - in New York (2009) and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011). Although she has worked with Salman in many films; come 2012, she begins Dhoom 3 with Aamir and an untitled film with Shah Rukh for the first time. The trade is abuzz with the news of how the actress, who has hit it off with Adi, has replaced Rani as the new favourite of the banner.

Katrina makes light of the fact that next year she will have three releases with the Khan triumvirate. "I am just grateful to be working with such big directors and stars. I believe that the success of a film is in the hands of destiny. I look at it as a job where I have to give the best that I can. I have always learned something from every actor I have worked with, so I hope to learn from Shah Rukh and Aamir too."

Trade analyst Vikas Mohan rubbishes whispers of Katrina's friendship with Adi Chopra behind her three-film lottery, saying, "Kat was seen as the reason behind Mere Brother Ki Dulhan's success. She was the calling card of the film. Promotional strategies were planned around her and she pulled it off. She cemented her position in the industry, that's why she is the only actress who has signed three films with Aditya." The amount of money the banner has riding on her is mind-boggling. Adds Mohan, "On paper, all three films have approximately 200 crore riding on them."

A spokesperson for the production house says, "The decision to have Katrina in three films was made on the basis of only one parameter - the script - followed by the director's vision. Katrina was always the director's first choice for two of those three films."

Another trade analyst Vajir Singh adds, "She was known as a non-actress, but with Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara, Rajneeti and New York, Kat proved she can act. For Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, she went all out to promote it like a hero."

We wonder what Rani has to say about all this, eh?

[kiran]

Shahid Kapoor says Sonam Kapoor is very special

At a recent Colgate Maxfresh party, Shahid Kapoor praised his Mausam co-star Sonam Kapoor and termed her sweet and innocent. Shahid also said that Sonam was a very special person as far as he was concerned.

Shahid Kapoor has in the past, especially during the shoot of Pankaj Kapoor’s Mausam been linked to Sonam Kapoor. A lot was written about the romantic link up between the two. It was being said that Shahid Kapoor had a soft corner for Sonam and was in love with her. So it came as a surprise when Shahid said at a recent Colgate Maxfresh party that she was very ‘special’. Shahid said, “I think Sonam is a wonderful looking girl and she looks very simple and innocent. I think she is always a special actress because I did Mausam with her which was special to me."

Shahid Kapoor also praised Sonam’s look in her upcoming film Players, and said she looked wonderful.

[kiran]

Films on children with special needs to be screened at IFFI

Panaji: The International Film Festival of India in Goa will screen on Sunday three small films made by mothers of children with special needs to offer the audience a rare glimpse into the lives of such kids and their families.

Shalini Gupta, Neena Wagh and Kusum Tiwari, the three mothers who created an informal group 'SAATH and made the films based on their personal experiences, have come forward to sensitize film makers and delegates about their mission to create an awareness about the needs of such children and their families.

The films made by these women are titled - Janam' 'Aghaz' and 'Parvaaz.'

Speaking to reporters at the media centre here, IFFI Director Shankar Mohan said that cinema has always been about social change and awareness and therefore IFFI has given this platform to these brave parents who would be interacting with the delegates and sharing their experiences.

[kiran]

Ranveer writes script for a dark comedy

Actor Ranveer Singh is only two films old, counting the one that releases on December 9, Ladies V/s Ricky Bahl, where he plays a con man, Ricky. At the end of next month, he will start shooting with Sonakshi Sinha for Lootera, his third film. However, while he’s doing one film at a time, he’s also
writing the story and script of a film he plans to direct himself, a year down the line.

“It’s a dark comedy and it’s partially ready,” he admits. “I’ve had this subject in mind for a very long time. I’ve been a copywriter and done various other things related to the job I’m doing now, before becoming an actor. I can’t tell you the details of the story because it’s too premature, but the subject is contemporary and something the youth can definitely relate with.”

Ranveer is keen to produce, direct and act this film. He has narrated the story to a couple of directors, including Shaad Ali, popular for the Abhishek Bachchan-Rani Mukherji film, Bunty Aur Babli (2005).

“Everyone who has heard the story has showed interest in it. Shaad’s reaction was something I can never forget. I’ve learnt the ropes of filmmaking before entering the industry. But as someone who is two or three films old, it would be too early for me to start producing and directing,” he reasons. “So, maybe someone else will have to step into those jobs. But I’d definitely like to write the script myself. And the film will have to be on floors really soon, maybe in a year, because if I hold on to it any longer, the basic idea will become stale.”

As of now, the actor is busy promoting his second movie with the YRF banner that launched him last year with Band Baaja Baraat. When asked if he’d do a third and fourth movie with the production company, Ranveer says, “I will do another movie for sure with the banner. They haven’t spoken to me about anything as yet. I don’t know if it will be with Anushka (Sharma) and director Maneesh (Sharma), but it’ll be great to complete a hat trick with them.”

[kiran]

Bollywood delays IFFI openings

The 42nd edition of the International Film Festival of India, now on, chose Bollywood stars to open its two most important sections, the Indian Panorama and earlier the Festival itself.

Shah Rukh Khan or Bollywood Badshah as he is now known, walked in 40 minutes late to open the Festival


on November 23 in Goa’s Margao, keeping even Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni and Goa’s Chief Minister Digambar Kamat waiting, not to mention the international jury (chairman Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Israel’s Dan Wolman, Iran’s Tahmineh Milani and Busan’s Lee Yong Kwan among others).


Gautaman Bhaskaran
It was not very different either the following day, when actress Madhuri Dixit was invited to inaugurate the Indian Panorama. She appeared 45 minutes late, irking the assembled delegates and journalists. “We want to see the movie, not Ministers or bureaucrats or stars”, I heard several among the crowd shouting and clapping in protest. Dixit’s arrive-as-you-please attitude pushed the opening film of the Panorama, Urumi, by 75 minutes. This was nothing short of sacrilege.

That Bollywood will hijack the Festival was a fear that many had harboured even before the 11-day event pitched its permanent tent on the banks of the River Mandovi in 2004 after years of gypsy existence when it wandered around the country. The apprehension now seems more real than perceived.

Also, nowhere in the world does a film festival get bogged down by such elaborately inane speech-and-dance rituals on its opening night. It took a full two hours on the inaugural evening for the Festival in Goa to begin screening the opening movie, The Consul of Bordeaux. Audiences were clearly impatient by then, and many left in what could be seen as insulting to the Portuguese directors.

While Portugal’s The Consul of Bordeaux (by Francisco Manso and Joao Correa) was an apt work given the fact that Goa was celebrating the Golden Jubilee of its liberation from Lisbon, the movie, though, ended up being one of those ponderous looks at a World War II incident. The story of a man (in this case the French Consul) saving Jews from Hitler’s hatred is a theme that has been beaten out of shape. And this depressingly dark work was neither invigorating nor elevating – ingredients essential to add that zing to get a Festival sailing.

Santosh Sivan’s Urumi dealt (quite aptly again) with an essentially Portuguese theme: Vasco da Gama’s hunt for pepper and invasion of Kerala and Goa. Photographed stunningly by Sivan himself, the film is more fiction than fact, and often confuses the viewer with its innumerable characters and intricate plot twists. Interesting performances by Vidya Balan and Genelia D’Souza (weighed down by average efforts by Prabhu Deva and Prithviraj) were somewhat redeeming in a tiringly long work, 155 minutes in all.

Between The Consul of Bordeaux and Urumi was the lifetime felicitation of French director Bertrand Tavernier (The Princess of Montpensier, In the Electric Mist and Holy Lola). The award carrying a cash of $20,000 has been reinstated after a decade.
Paradoxically, the helmer rued that not one film of his had ever found a theatrical outlet in India. The man who has visited India five times said that he would think of making a movie in the country, maybe something on Indo-French relations.

Adding that French cinema was “actively political”, he said that his works – that often portray aspects of education and culture -- had inspired several to become teachers and few, policemen.

[Film Freak]

Salman Khan Defeats Shah Rukh & Aamir In Fastest Rs. 100 Crore Race

1 hour ago by Mrigank Dhaniwala

While Sachin Tendulkar might have missed his 100th hundred, our movie stars are not much behind when it comes to emulating the Master Blaster. Here’s how: Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgan belong to the exclusive Rs. 100 crore club in Bollywood. Films of all the four stars have crossed the record-breaking Rs. 100 crore (net collections) mark at the Indian box-office. But which of their films have broken the Rs. 100 crore barrier in the least time? Which is the fastest Bollywood grosser in recent times? We dipped into our archives to bring you the statistics and the analysis:

Films Which Have Crossed Rs. 100 Crore (Net) Mark At Indian Box-Office

Position Movie Number of days
1 Bodyguard 8 days
2 3 Idiots 9 days
3 Ra.One (Hindi version only) 10 days
4 Dabangg 10 days
5 Ready 12 days
6 Ghajini 16 days
7 Golmaal 3 17 days
8 Singham 37 days
Analysis
While Salman Khan’s Bodyguard raked in Rs. 100 crore in a matter of just 8 days, Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots did the same in one day more. Shah Rukh Khan entered the race a little later with Ra.One this year by raking in the moolah in 10 days. Then we have a couple of more Salman Khan starrers on the list, Dabangg and Ready, which took 10 and 12 days respectively to cross the mark. Ghajini comes in at number six. The film made Rs. 100 crore in 16 days. Ajay Devgan’s Golmaal 3 took a tad longer with 17 days. Singham lags at the last spot, with 37 days to reach the Rs. 100 crore mark.

Star Rankings
1. Salman Khan, with the fastest grosser (Bodyguard) in his kitty, as well as two other films in the list of fastest grossers, clearly leads the pack.

2. Aamir Khan comes a close number two, with 3 Idiots (number 2) and Ghajini (number 6) on our list.

3. Ajay Devgan, with two films on the list (Golmaal 3 and Singham), is at number three, after Salman Khan and Aamir Khan.

4. Shah Rukh Khan, with just Ra.One, comes in last, in spite of the fact that his dream film takes the number 3 spot on the list of fastest grossers.

What Next?
With a spate of movies lined up for release in the next few months, do you think any of them will make the mark and break records set by these films? Or will we have to wait for the biggies — Shah Rukh Khan’s Don 2, Aamir Khan’s Talaash, Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger and Hrithik Roshan’s Agneepath?

[breakingviews]

thanks kiran and ff

[breakingviews]

'Shor in the city' TV Premeire Sahara One - tomorrow 12.30 and 8.30

[kiran]

'Shor in the city' TV Premeire Sahara One - tomorrow 12.30 and 8.30

Rascals premiering soon on Colors

[veecee]

Rascals premiering soon on Colors